Track cleaner



July l2, 1949. M. s. waT-TNER TRACK CLEANER Filed July 1o, 1947 L @EEEEEEEE u M u Q u u M om, R U u m.

Patented July 12, 1949 Y itJNITED ST.

ZAZSH errent" --orrics g 3 Claims. l

This Ainvention relates to a track cleaner 'designed especially for model railroads.

Model `railroad equipment, particularly the smallersizes'such as I-IO, OO and O gauge are operated on -low voltage direct current. The trackis scale size brass rail and the layout in general is an exact duplication yof full sized equipment, andthereforeno third rail-is used as is cus ternary with the larger or tin platevariety of electric trains.

The vrela-.tively low voltage direct current carried by the two rails is transmitted to the electric motor in the locomotive through Vthe locomotive wheels and VI -havefound that oil,.dust andcorrosion on the rails effectively insulates .the rails and prevents proper contact with 'the locomotive wheels.

It is often necessary that this deposit be moved from the tracks before each operation of the train, and where extensive .layouts including tunnels and inaccessible track ,arrangements are employed, it is practically impossible to clean all the track suciently well to make good electrical contact.

An additional piece of rolling stock designed to clean the rails as it is pulled over the track system not only provides the solution to the cleaning problem, but also is an attractive addition to the model railroaders equipment.

The primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a track cleaner adapted to 'be attached to a piece of rolling stock on a model railroad.

A further object is to provide a track cleaner for a model railroad having a spring loaded member adapted to resiliently press a pair of track cleaners against the track. The invention also includes means for saturating the cleaning elements with a suitable solvent or cleaning iluid.

Further objects will be apparent from the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my track cleaner attached to a piece of model railroad equipment;

Fig, 2 is an enlarged elevation partly broken away of the track cleaner itself;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4.. is a front view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along lines 5 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the resilient pivot of the cleaner; and

Fig. '7 is a sectional view illustrating a modiiied form.

The invention comprises essentially a carrier adapted to retain and position a pair of felt wicks screw 2l.

-abovethe rails ofthe model railroad layout in -such.a;manner that the 1.wicks may be saturated with a suitable cleaning :solution and 'thence pulled along the .rails under predeterminedpressure to'removeall foreign matter from "the surface of the rails thereby providingLproper electrical contact.

'The yfelt wicks oripadsin :one formA maybe :saturated "with .fa cleaning v-solution manually, or if desired, the solution may be stored in .a `valved tank above the wicks so that the solution need .only 'be replenished from timeto'ftimeastre'quired Referring `more particularly tto the vdrawings, the :cleaning :element .proper 'is l a `yoke shaped member .lil having 1a `Lpair fjo'f vertically disposed 'recesses li near A.the tip '.of'each iendzof the yoke.

Azfeltpad vi2 iscarried'ineachirecess .H :and is prevented from .dropping out roi `the recesses by means Lof -a vrestriction or shoulder 'x13 :at'the botztom r-:clgezofzthe recesses. Thezrecesses are spaced `one fromzanother yat .-a ,distancerequivalent ltothe spacing .between trails 14 fof the track system.

The sides of recesses H `rnaywext'en'd idirectlyupward leaving felts l2 exposed at their upper ends or member l may be constructed to provide a funnel shaped opening l5 above each end of pad i2.

The two ends of the yoke I0 are connected by means of a spacer web ma and the iront portion of the yoke is pivoted at I6 by means of pin il' to the main body i8 of the cleaner. The cleaner body I8 is pivotally mounted on a standard model railroad truck I9 at i90'. and has a standard cou-- pling 20 attached to its forward end by means of The top of the cleaner is provided with a recess 22 and a hand rail or windshield 23, both of which perform no function in the track vcleaning operation but add to the attractiveness of the cleaner ensemble.

In constructing a track cleaner in accordance with the invention, I have found that for some sizes of track, and where the layout has relatively sharp curves, it may be desirable to shorten the distance between the felt pads l2 and the center of truck l 9 as much as possible. In this event, pin ll may be located nearer the center of truck I9 to prevent the pads I2 from leaving the track when rounding a curve.

Suicient pressure between the pads and tracks it, which are secured to ties 24 in the customary manner, may be obtained by weighting the member l0, or this element may be fabricated from a relatively heavy material such as lead; but in the preferred form I provide a fly spring 25 (Fig. 6) which is coiled around pin H in such a way that body member I is urged downwardly to compress pads I2 against rails I4.

The form of Figs. 1-6 contemplates the introduction of a cleaning fluid or solvent to pads l2 by means of an eye dropper or squirt can applied to funnels I5, however, a semi-permanent type of cleaner having a uid reservoir 26 (Fig. 7) permits the storage of cleaning uid. The reservoir 26 is lled through cap 21 which is vented at 28 and iluid is introduced to modified l0 pads l2 by means of needle valve 29 threadedly mounted in bushing 30 and cooperating with valve seat 3 i The fluid then passes through bore 32 which communicates with each pad.

The construction of Fig. 7 is adapted to replace strut ma and the view of this figure would be one taken along lines 5 5 of Fig, 3 of the modied form.

I have, therefore, provided a track cleaning device for model railroad tracks which not only 3 enables the rails to be adequately cleaned regardless of their accessibility, but in addition, adds a desirable new piece of rolling equipment to the model railroaders stock and at the same time enables him to clean the tracks while operating the train.

Ordinarily it is only necessary to connect the track cleaner for a single run over the layout, .but if desired, it may be added as a permanent piece of equipment.

I claim:

1. A track cleaner for model railway systems comprising an articulated body member having a iront portion and a rear portion, means for resiliently articulating the rear portion with respect to the front portion in a vertical plane, a connection at the forward end of the front body portion adapted to engage the end of a model railroad train, a truck vertically pivoted to the front body portion between the connection and the articulating means, and a pair of pads mounted in the rear body portion adapted to contact the rails rearwardly of the truck.

2. A track cleaner for model railway systems comprising an articulated body member having a front portion and a rear portion, means for resiliently articulating the rear portion with respect to the front portion in a vertical plane, a connection at the forward end of the front body portion adapted to engage the end of a model railroad train, a truck vertically pivoted to the front body portion between the connection and the articulating means, a pair of pads mounted in the rear body portion adapted to contact the rails rearwardly of the truck, and means for supplying solvent to each pad.

3. A track cleaner for model railway systems comprising an articulated body member having a front portion and a rear portion, means for resiliently articulating the rear portion with respect to the front portion in a vertical plane, a connection at the forward end of the front body portion adapted to engage the end of a model railroad train, a truck vertically pivoted to the front body portion between the connection and the articulating means, a pair of pads mounted in the rear body portion adapted to contact the rails behind the truck, a reservoir in the rear body member, a supply of cleaning uid in said reservoir, a conduit from the reservoir to each of the pads, and a valve for opening and closing said conduit to permit metering of the fluid to the pads.

MURRAY S. WITTNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 196,150 Isaacs Oct. 16, 1877 944,464 Robinson Dec. 28, 1909 1,436,837 Wallace NOV. 28, 1922 

